Pearls of Wisdom For Kingdom Living By Pastor George Belobaba

Hard Sayings

John 6:60-61…“Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?” (KJV). The Message reads, “Many among his disciples heard this and said, ‘This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.’ Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, ‘Does this throw you completely?'”

Have you ever been offended at a Bible verse the Lord gave to you? Have you ever murmured and had thoughts of quitting? Have you ever said to the pastor, “This is a tough word to swallow?” The Lord has disturbed me often, and I am glad for it. Jesus will give you a word from time to time to disturb you, stir you up, to realign your life, to correct you, and to bring you into balance. We look for His edifying words, and we do need His nursing us along at times. We also need His refusal to nurse us; we need His word to tell us, “Stop whining and get on with it.”

Hard sayings are often a dividing word; that word will divide the truth from that which is a falsehood. His word will divide right feelings from wrong feelings. A hard saying is often a purifying word. It will strip away all the crust that we have accumulated. A hard saying is often very painful. However, saints, it is better to receive a hard saying from Jesus who loves us and directs us than a smooth saying from the devil, who only wants to sever our relationship with Christ. King David said in Psalm 119:93, “I will never lay aside your laws, for you have used them to restore my joy andhealth” (TLB).

Sometimes when God gives us a word, we look for His “plan B.” But when it comes to repentance for sin, for holiness and righteousness and for “light,” God has no “plan B.”